The Raptors, in training camp and pre-season, have been immersed in an all-encompassing effort to vault their offence into 2017. They’re running the ball, swinging it from side to side and shooting more threes,

I was reminded, while reading Baxter Holmes’ NBA preview feature for ESPN The Magazine, that not long ago, Steve Kerr had the same idea with the Golden State Warriors.

“Gelfand knows the Warriors ranked last in the NBA in that category under Jackson in 2013-14…He also knows that when they passed more than three times in a single possession, they led the league in points per possession on such plays. In essence, when the Warriors moved the ball, ‘we were,’ Gelfand says, ‘almost unstoppable.’ They just didn’t do it very much.”

Let’s be clear: The Raptors aren’t the Warriors. They don’t have the shooting or passing instincts. But those Warriors, regardless of their talent, remain a good test case in how...